Mark J. Farbstein

Bone-Marrow Ablation and Allogeneic Marrow Transplantation in Acute Leukemia

Thirty-three patients with acute leukemia (15 with lymphoblastic leukemia and 18 with myeloblastic leukemia) were entered into a program of high-dose radiochemotherapy followed by allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation. These patients were in various clinical stages of disease. Of 10 in complete hematologic remission at the time of transplantation, seven were alive without maintenance therapy at the time of evaluation, eight to 35 months after grafting; one was in relapse. Of 11 who received transplants during partial remission, six were in remission without further treatment eight to 33 months after transplantation. In 12 the disease was refractory to chemotherapy when preparation for transplantation was started, and only one of them was alive and free of disease after 10 months. Recurrent leukemia, graft-versus-host disease, viral pneumonia, and early therapy-related toxicity were the major causes of failure. High-dose chemotherapy and total-body irradiation followed by allogeneic marrow transplantation performed during complete or partial remission can produce long-term remission of acute leukemia.

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura following Bone Marrow Transplantation

A 25-year-old female developed idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura 1 year after undergoing bone marrow transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia. She had a complete response after splenectomy. Th

Successful second bone marrow transplantation in a patient with myositis ossificans progressiva and aplastic anemia.

Bone marrow transplantation has become the treatment of choice for patients with severe aplastic anemia who are fortunate enough to have allogeneic sibling donors. As patients have been transplanted earlier in the course of their disease, significant improvements have been obtained in long-term survival. However, in patients who have been sensitized by previous blood product transfusions, graft rejection continues to be a significant problem and second transplants when performed are frequently unsuccessful. This case report deals with a patient with myositis ossificans progressiva (MOP) who developed severe idiopathic aplastic anemia. He rejected his first graft after 160 days. However, he was successfully reingrafted with marrow from the same donor using a different conditioning regimen.

Outcome of bone marrow transplantation in patients with extramedullary involvement of acute leukemia

SummaryInfiltration of extrahemopoietic tissue with leukemic cells was evaluated as a prognostic indicator in 18 patients with acute leukemia undergoing bone marrow transplantation. When compared to 107 patients who did not have extramedullary leukemia at any time prior to marrow grafting, the patients with leukemic invasion into organs outside the hemopoietic system had a significant increase of leukemic recurrence and a significant decrease in survival after marrow transplantation. Extramedullary leukemia may be a negative prognostic indicator for bone marrow transplantation candidates.